All posts tagged "cell phone use"

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

"Driving distractions, primarily by cellphones and other electronic devices, are associated with up to 25 percent of U.S. car crashes, according to a report released on Thursday. The study by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), a nonprofit group that works to improve traffic safety, assessed research from more than 350 scientific papers published since 2000."

This shouldn't come as a shock to anyone, but no matter how good of a driver you are, the second that anything - a cell phone, the radio, reaching for a cup of coffee, etc. - takes you eyes off the road, you're dramatically increasing the risk of having an accident. Texting and overall cell phone use is just the latest trend in a problem that has occurred since the invention of the automobile...though I'd guess that back in the Ford Model T days, with no radio to fiddle with, GPS to check, or phone to answer, there were a lot less accidents due to distracted driving. Topping out at 45 Mph also helped!